Package-filling machine.



L. s. WHI 'I'T ON. PACKAGE FILLING MACHINE.

f APPLIOATION FILED APB.30 1912. 1., 1 1 5,758.

Patented Nov. 3, 1914;

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ll lvento rz LEW/s fimmfrom i e sse Q f L. s. WHITTON. v PACKAGE FILLING MAGHINE.

APPLICATION FILED APR.30, 1912. 1 1 15 758.. Patented Nov. 3, 1914.

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L. s. WHITION. PACKAGE FILLING MACHINE. I 1 APPLICATION FILED APR. 30, 1912. 1,1 15,758.' Pgtented'NOV.3,191i

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Inventor:

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L's. WHITTQN. H PACKAGE FILLING MAGHINE. APPLIOATIOIbFILED APR. 30, 1912.

' Patented Nov. 3, 1914.

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LEWIS S. WHITTON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

PACKAGE-FILLING MACHIN Specification of Letters Patent.

- Patented Nov. 3,1914.

Application filed April 30, 1912. Serial No. 694,188.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, LEWIS S. lVHIT'roN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Package-Filling Machines; and I do hereby declare .that the following description of my said invention,

taken in connection with the accompanying sheets of drawings, forms a full, olear,,and exact speclfication, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains toI "able margin. This excess entails a direct This invention has general reference to. improvements in package filling machines, and it consists, essentially, in the novel and peculiar combinationof parts and details of construction, as hereinafter first fully setv ,forth and described, and then pointed out in Z on the floor or rolling out of reach on the In the drawings already mentioned, Fig ure 1 is a so-called left hand side elevation make and use the same.

the claims.'-

of my invention, parts being broken away and others shown in section, to better illustrate certain elements of the construction; Fig. 2, a front elevation, parts shown ini section being taken in line 0. 0. of Fig. 1; Fig. 3, an elevation of the right hand side of 1 the machine, unnecessary parts being broken away; Fig. 4, a plan of the lower half of; the device, the parts shown in section being in line 1. 1. of Fig. 2; Fig. 5, a vertical sectional elevation, in line 2. 2. of Fig. 1; Fig. i 6, a section of a detail of construction in line 3. of Fig. 1; Fig. '2, a similar section of another detail in line i. 4. of F ig. 3; Fig. 8, a plan of the nozzle supporting bar hereinafter described; Fig. 9, a plat; of the outlet plate of my machine; Fig. 10, a longitudinal, sectional elevation in line 5. 5. of Fig.

9; Fig. 11, a plan of one of the chutes detached; Fig. 12, an end view of the same,

' and Fig. 13 a fragmentary plan of the supporting means for the nozzle and sleeve carriers.

Like symbols and characters of reference are employed to indicate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

In the manufacture of proprietary medi cines in the form of pellets, pills, globules, capsules, wafers, or lozenges. one item of cost has always. glaringly obtruded itself, and is the heavy expense involved in counting these articles and placing the same into the containers in which they are sold. As is well known, these containersrzare generally in the form of bottles, tubes, or cartons; and such as are the same size and containing the same class ofgoods, are all supposed to hold the same pre-determined quantity of pills, pellets, or globules, as the case may be. This work of filling is now almost entirely performed by hand labor; oftentimes small measures being used instead of counting. These measures are made so as to easily hold the required number of articles and the quantity inserted in each package usually exceeds the prescribed total by a considerbut unknown loss to the manufacturers, which, in the case of costly preparations, amounts to a surprising figure in the course of a year. Aside from this, in handling these materials by hand, there is a certain percentage of loss through articles dropping filling bench. All this, taken in connection with the usual carlessness of unskilled labor,

makes the problem of filling of packages an all important one in the drug trade.

It is the initial aim of my invention, therefore, to provide mechanical means for not only filling the containers, but also to permit only the exact predetermined number or quantity to pass into the packages. In the refinements of my invention, means are established for easily varying the predetermined number to be admitted at a time, so as to permit the use of various sized packages. Provision is also made for filling an entire row of bottles or other containers simultaneously, and other mechanisms are incorporated whereby a series of rows may be successively filled, all without the intervention of manual labor other than that necessary to turn the crank of the machine when it ishand operated.

My package filling machine consists first I for a magazine, casing, and other filling devices hereinafter described. The upper ends of these grooves terminate in open slots 0 c, the extremities of which are closed by brackets d, d, which brackets are apertured and threaded for the reception of.

threaded studs 3, 4. Said studs have on their upper ends hand wheels 5, 6, while their lower extremities are held in engaging contact with journal boxes 1, 2, which are adapted to move up or down in the aforementioned slots 0, c, as the hand wheels 5, Bare revolved in one direction or the other. On'the side of said standards B, B, and adjacent to the open slots, are provided graduations 7,, 8, whloh, co6perating with pointers 9, 10, on the journal boxes 1, 2,enable the operator to keep said journal boxes in accurate alinement.

Clamped between the legs A, A, at their upper ends, by means of bolts 11, is a table 6., This is composed of side members 12, 13, intermediate bars H, 15, and end angles 16. 17, all as clearly shown in Fig. 1. To the upper surface of the intermediate bars are afiixed rails 18, 19, extending throughout the length of the table, and on the exterior sides of the said bars are formed for the greater portion of the length thereof, depressions 20, 21, which depressed portions serve as solid supports for the upper laps of link belts 22, 23, as best seen in Figs. 2 and 1, the latter view also showing the 1 point of stoppage, at either end, of the said depressed portions 20, 21.

The link belts 22, 23 are trained over sprockets 24, 25, located near the rear of the table C, which sprockets are fixed on a shaft 28, supported in journal boxes 30, 31 under the-side members 12-, 13 of the table C. At the forward end of sai table are similar sprockets 26, 27, attached to a shaft .29, adapted to revolve in journal boxes 32, 33, also fastended to the lower surfaces of the: members 12, 13. The height of said shafts and sprockets is so arranged that the upper laps of the link belts normally will, restupon the depressed portions 20, 21, of the in termediate bars, with their top surfaces at a suflieiently lower elevationthan the tops of the rails 18, 19, so that a tray, pan, or

i box may be moved along upon the rails without coming in contact with the tops of'the chain belts. Equi-distantly spaced throughout the entire length of the chains, are a series of upstanding posts 20', 21'. The circumference of the sprockets 24, 25 and 26, i 27 at their pitch l nes is made preciselyi .equal to the distance from the center of one 7 of these posts to the center of the next succeeding, or preceding one, so that one revolution of the sprockets will advance the posts a' distance equal to the distance between the centers of adjacent posts.

Referring to Fig. 6, itwill be'seen'that the left hand journal box 30 has a circular:

boss 83 extending beyond the side-of the member 12,, and that shaft 28 projects considerably beyond the'end of said boss, the

end of said shaft having aremovable flange or washer 45, held in position by a screw 46. Embracing the boss 83 and held in po-l sition by set screw 35, is a circular cup shaped guard 34, with a portion of its periphery cut away at 36, as best seen in Figs. 1, 4:, and 6. This guard almost wholly covers the face of a fine toothed ratchet wheel 37 which is keyed or otherwise fixedly attached to shaft 28. For ease of adjustment, this ratchet wheel has a diameter closely approximating that of the sprocket wheels, and a number of teeth equal to a multiple of. the total number of posts 20, 21 contained on one of the link belts.

Between the ratchet wheel 37 and the washer 45, on the shaft28, is journaled a ratchet arm 38 having an upwardly extending head 39, projecting inwardly over the periphery of said ratchet wheel and guard, This head is formed with a circular recess $0, for the reception of a shank 11, of a pawl or dog 42, which dog is adapted to engage the teeth of the ratchet wheel 37. The upper end of the shank l1 terminates in a stem -13, passing through the head 39, and it has at its upper end a finger wheel 44, by which the pawl may be lifted out of en gagement with the ratchet teeth. In the top of the head 39 is cut a transverse notch 48, for the reception of a cross pin 47, which pin passes through the stem 43. The purpose of this is to prevent the said dog from being revolved while acting upon the teeth of the ratchet wheel. A helical spring 51 embraces the stem 43 and bears with its ends upon the shank 41 and the bottom of the recess 40, respectively, and tends to with the ratchet teeth. It will now be observed that should it be desired to remove the pawl from contact with said teeth, all that is required is to lift up on the finger wheel 11 and give same one-quarter revolution, when the cross pin 47 will rest upon the top of the head 39 and retain the dog in raised position. Diametrically opposite said head 39, the ratchet arm 38 has a pend- .force said dog or ,pawl into engagement ant projection 19, formed with a slotted 1 opening 50, through which suitable operating means areconneoted; the object of said slot-being to provide means for varying the throw of the ratchet arm. In the face of the ratchet wheel 37, and projecting beyond the periphery thereof, is located a dog 52,

the purpose of which will hereinafter be described.

Centrally in the legs A, Af are formed horizontal braces a, a, provided with journal boxes a", a', for the reception of a main operating shaft 53. On the left hand side, (Fig. 1), adjacent to the leg A, and afiixed to said shaft, is a peripheral cam 54:, possessing the following functions ;-first, a dwell at the point of minimum throw for a period ofone quarter revolution; second, an advance for the same period to the polnt of maximum throw; third, a dwell there for ninetydegrees, and, fourth a return to point of beginning for the remainder of the revolution. Bearing upon the periphery of this cam is a roller 55, revolving on a stud 63, fixed to the lower end of a rocker arm 58. This arm is trunnioned on a stub 57, secured. to a bracket 56, extending out from the leg A, and has at its upper extremity a stud 61, over which fits the eye of a connecting rod 60. The opposite end of said rod is adjustably affixed to the 'ratchetrarm 38 by suitable bolt 62 passing through the slot 50 and clamped there by its nut. A spring 59, fastened at one end to the side leg A and with the other to the upper portion of the rocker arm 58, serves to keep the roller in contact with the cam 54. Motion is imparted to main operating shaft 53, through a crank handle H, though a motor or any other preferred means may be employed if desired.

To the side members 12, 13 of the table C, on each side of the uprightsB, B, are afiixed upwardly protruding brackets 64, and 66, 67, said brackets being horizontally apertured for the reception of threaded studs 68, 69 and 70, 71, which studs, in pairs, are fastened to side guides 72, 73. The latter of these is held in fixed though adjustable position by nuts 78, 79 bearing against the sides of the brackets 66, 67. ()n the studs 68, 69 of the guide 72, however, between said guide and thebrackets 64, 65, are placed helical springs 74:, 75, which tend to force said guide laterally inward over said table C. The limit of this lateral movement is governed by the nuts 76, 77-, bearing against the outer faces of the brackets 64, 65.

Upon the rails 18, 19, on the table C, and adapted to be impelled by the posts 20, 21' on the link belts 22,23, is intended to slide a tray D, which tray contains bottles or other packages to be filled. These packages are arranged in spaced relation to each other, both laterally and longitudinally, and may be retained in position by the bridges E, E if desired, though in actual practice it is not necessary.

In operation, the tray D with its bottles or other packages E, is placed upon the rails 18, 19' by hand and pushed against the guide 73, which guide, when properlyadjusted, correctly registers the tray in lateral relation to the filling mechanism hereinafter described. Guide 72, actuated by the springs 74, 75, retains the same in the said registered position in a manner readily comprehended.

I will now proceed to describe the filling mechanism of my invention, and first call attention to a shaft F, best seen in. Fig. 5, which shaft is loosely journaled in the journal boxes 1 2, supported in the slots 0, 0 of the standards B, B. On this shaft and contiguous to the inner faces of said standards, are loosely hung circular heads or ends F, F, having peripheral flanges f, to'which are fastened metallic walls G, and G,

Figs. .1, 3, and 4, by means of. rivets 102, thereby forming a cylindrical interior J. On the outer sides of the ends F, F", are provided vertical ribs or projections 100, 101, which fit into theooves b, b of the uprights B, B, for gui ance and insurance against revolution of said ends and walls. The upper edges of walls G, G are flanged outwardly at 103, 104, for attachment to front and rear walls h, h, respectively, of a magazine or hopper H, which is superimposed thereupon. These front and rear walls are connected together by side walls h, k, which latter are in perpendicular alinement with the ends, F, F" and have their lower. edges shaped to fit the contour of the periphery of said ends. Around the upper edges of these Walls is formed a bead. 105, embracing a wire 106, for the purpose of stiffening the. topof the hopper or magazine.

Within the cylindrical chamber J, with its ends closely contiguous to the heads F, F, of a diameter equal to said heads, and impinging against the interior of the walls G, G, G, is located a cylindrical drumK, which drum has internal spiders K, vK keyed or otherwise fastened to shaft F at L, L, and by which it is adapted to be revolved. In the periphery of this drum are formed a series of-pockets, depressions, or indentations M, of a depth a little greater and of a diameter slightly larger than the articles which are to be filled into. the bottles, containers, or other packages. Said pockets are spaced equidistantly around the periphery of the drum and are arranged in a series of adjacent double rows the .entire width thereof. Each of these double rows is intendedto supply one of the packages to be filled, and the number of containers simultaneously served is dependent upon the number of double rows in the drum. It will be observed that the pockets in each' of the series of rows are staggered with respect to each other. This is done to enable me to place a greater number of pockets around the periphery of the drum in each series than would otherwise be possible, but with certain classes of articles may be dispensed with. Along the front wall 71., of the magazine, on the interior thereof, and with its bristles in contact with the periphery of the drum, throughout its entire length, is a brush 107, the purpose of which is to insure the pockets M. Assuming the magazine to be filled with pills, pellets, globules or other articles and the drum being slowly revolved in the direction of the arrow shown in Fig.

the insertion of the articles to be filled into 1, it will be understood that the brush 107 will wipe away from the surface of said drum all surplus articles and prevent. same from being crushed between the edge of wall G and the drum. Moreover, any articles not properly seated into the pockets, will be efl'ectually brushed into place in a manner readily comprehended.

Between the edges of the walls G, G, extending from heads F to F, and held in contact therewith by lips g, g, is a strip of glass, mica, or other transparent material I, whereby a view of the surface of the drum and the contents of the pockets is afli'orded to the operator.

To supply an outlet for the contents of the pockets M, I provide an outlet plate N, which is fastened at its ends to the" heads F F, respectively, by means of screws n, with itslongitudinal edges contiguous to the edges of the walls G, G, and located so that its horizontal axis is at a point approximately forty five degrees below the horizontal center of the drum K, so that the contents of the pockets M will readily drop "therefrom. In plate N are formed a series of openings 0, corresponding in numberto, and registering with the double rows of pockets in the drum, which openings have inwardly flaring, upstanding flanges 0, the upper walls of which are apertured and threaded at p. The upper portion of openings G are of rectangular contour, gradually tapering down to a radius, slightly greater than that of the articles to pass therethrough, at the lower end. The purpose of this construction is initially to afiord ample room for the articles to drop through, and then gradually to contract the space, so that they will eventuall roll successively.

To each of the anged openings 0 is attached a. chute P, shown in detail in Figs. 11 'and 12. As all these chutes are precisely similar in construction, a description of one will sufiice. The upper portion of said chute is of rectangular cross section, sufficiently larger than the flanged part 0, of the openings 0, so as to freely embrace the same, and its upper wall 111 is provided with a lip 108, which is apertured with an oblong hole 109 for the reception of a screw 110, by-

which it is held in position on the flange o, This oblong hole, and the fact that the interior of the chute is larger laterally than the flanged portion 0, afiords a certain amount of play to the top of the chute and a considerable amount of horizontal oscilla- 't10Il'0f the lower end thereof. The object of this lateral adjustment is to enable me to vary the distance between the centers of the openings 0, so as to accommodate larger or smaller packages, as may be desired. The side walls 112, 113 of the chute blend inwardly and downwardly to a radius .in a manner similar to the bottom of the openings O, and the whole chute gradually tapers down toward its lower end, Where it terminates in a cylindrical shell 1151, having an interior circular passage 115, slightly larger than the pellets.

' of the nozzles.

The cylindrical portion 114 of the chute is embraced by a bell-mouth or enlargement 116 of a nozzle R, which nozzle is crooked or goo senecked at the upper portion Where it slips over the end of the chute, while its main body is cylindrical, as at 117, and extends downwardly in a vertical plane; it is possessed of a circular passage 118 throughout its entire length, the upper end thereof, communicating with the opening 115 of said chute and the lower extremity with the bottle, package, or other container to be filled. It has, further, a boss 119, vertically apertured and threaded for a screw 120, by means of which it is retained in operative position from a supporting bar 121.

Referring to Fig.2, it will be seen that supporting bar 121 supportseach of said nozzles by its respective screw. extends the entire width of the drum and heads 1*", F, and is maintained in proper and rigid position by brackets 124, 125, attached to said heads, respectively. It is provided with longitudinal slots 122, 121 and a central aperture 123, the object of these slots being to afford lateral adjustment The center nozzle is held in fixed position through aperture 123, and all adjustments of the remaining nozzles are made in to or away from said center nozzle.

In order to prevent any spill of the contents between the end of above mentioned nozzles and the packages to be filled, I surround each nozzle with a sleeve S, best illustrated in section in Fig. 1. Said sleeve has .an interior bore 127 embracing the nozzle and an enlargement 126 at the lower end, the interior of which is flared out orbell mouthed at 128 to engage and rest upon the neck of the bottle or other container. Embracing sleeve S, is a'carrier T, having a counterbored enlargement 130 at its lower end for Said bar the reception of a helical spring 131, which bears on enlargement 126 of the sleeve and tends to force the same downwardly. This movement is arrested by a flange 129, on the upper extremity of said sleeve, coming in contact with the top-edge of carrier '1. The purpose of this feature of the construction is to provide a certain amount of elasticity to compensate for possible variationin height of the bottles to be filled. Carrier T has near its upper end diametrically, oppositely located ears 132, 133, transversely apertured, for the reception of horizontally, laterally extending rods U, U, set screw .134. on ear 133 being employed to hold the car rier in position. The rods U, U extend the entire width of the table C, as best seen in Fig. 2, and at their ends are removably' fastened by screws 135, 136 to brackets W, W. Said brackets have downwardly pendant posts 137, 138, passing through guide sleeves 139, 1 10, which are fastened to the side members 12, 13 of the table C, and terminate in eyes 141, 142, which eyes are connected together by a laterally extending rod 143, held rom movement by set screws 144, 145. De" pending from rod 143, are a pair of longitudinally adjustable connecting rods 146, 147, whose lower extremities are attached to crank arms 148, 149, fastened to a lateral shaft 150, whith is journaled at its ends in the legs A, A of the machine. Springs 151 152, attached to said crank arms and to a lateral rod 153, tend to maintain the above described co-acting elements in a normally depressed position.

Medially of the length of the main operating shaft 53, already described, is located a peripheral cam 154 of the following functions :a dwell at the minimum point of the throw, of one half revolution; an advance to the maximum throw, for one eighth part of a turn; a period of rest there for ninety degrees, and a return to the-starting point for the remaining one eighth revolution. In contact with the periphery of this cam is a cam roller 155, revolubly aflixed to a rocker arm 156, which arm is keyed or otherwise fastened to hereinbefore ,mentioned shaft 150. v

The relationship between cam 54, rocker arm, 58, connecting-rod 60, ratchet arm 38, ratchet wheel 37, and its coacting shafts sprockets, and link belts with theirposts', on one side, and the cam 154, rocker arm 156, shaft 150, with its crank arms, connecting rods, and other elements collaborating with carriers T, rods U, U and sleeve S, on the other hand, will now be explained.

Referring to Fig. 4, it will be found that the lateral row X of bottles or other con tainers are directly under the filling nozzles R and sleeves S, and it is now assumed for purposes of illustration that they have been filled and the tray D is in readiness to be advanced, so as to bring the subsequent row Z under the nozzles, by the impelling posts 20, 21 of the link belts 22, 23. Passing on to Fig. 1, and assuming that the shaft 53 is being slowly revolved in the direction indicated by the arrow pointer, it will be observed that the cam 154, acting upon roller 155, and through it upon rocker arm 156 and its related elements, has already elevated the carriers T and sleeves S almost the prescribed distance. It will have accomplished this just before the cam 54 begins to advance the roller ,55 on rocker arm 58, through which and its related parts, the pawl 42, on the ratchet arm 38, is caused to engage and advance the ratchet wheel 37, and,-of necessity,'move forward the tray D.

At the conclusion of this period of advance,

the cam 154 has then been revolved sufliciently-to release the roller 155, and through the medium of the springs 151, 152, permit the return of said sleeves S and carriers '1 to their depressed position, in which position the former are in engagement with the necks of the bottles or other containers in the row Z. While row Z is being filled, a new tray of emptycontamers is placed on the tracks 18, 19, against the next following 7( I set of nnpellmg posts, and when the filling of row Z is completed, the foregoing operation is repeated, except in this instance, the dog or stop 52, on the ratchet wheel 37, will have been sufficiently advanced, thatit, in- 5 stead of the ratchet teeth, is engaged by the pawl 42, and the ratchet wheel revolved sufficiently that the gap between the trays is bridged and the first row of containers in the fresh tray brought under the nozzles. It

should be understood that when adjusting the throw of the ratchet arm 38, it is given enough movement so that this gap is bridged. This movement being greater,

however, than required for advancing from row to row of containers, the guard 34 with its out out portion 36, is adjusted relative to the pawl 42, that said pawl engages only enoughteeth of the ratchet to produce the advance from row to row, and rides for the initial part ofthe advance upon the periphery of the said guard.

On the main drive shaft 53, adjacent to leg A, on the right hand side of the machine, is made fast an adjustable crank 175, 5

which isprovided with a longitudinal dovetailed portion 176, within which resides a screw threaded stud 177, passing through the head 181, of said crank, and terminating in a squared end 179, for application of a suitable wrench for adjusting purposes.

Adapted to slide in said dovetailed portion, I

is a wrist pin block 180, which block is in threaded engagement with threaded stud 177, and susceptible of adjustment thereby. 5

Perpendicularly above the axis of the shaft 53, on the side of standard or upright B, is slidably arranged a'rack-bar 200, which bar. is provided with two slotted openings 205,,

206, by means of which, and screws 203, 204 no I passing therethrough and into bosses 201, 202, it is maintained in operative position. 0n the edge of said bar, adjacent to the drum shaft F, Figs. 3 and 7, and extending along the upper portion thereof, are formed 1 5 a series of rack teeth 207, which'are in mesh with a pinion 208, loosely mounted on the said shaft F, near the end thereto. Integrally formed with this pinion, is a ratchet arm 209, which, at itsfree end, has a head 210, projecting over the periphery of a ratchet wheel 211,- keyed on the end of the shaft F. Within the ratchet head 210, .is formed a circular recess 212, forthe reception of a helical spring 213, one end of which bears upon the bottom of said recess and the other against the head of a pawl 214, adapted to engage the teeth of ratchet wheel 211. A stem 215, havinga finger wheel 216, and a cross pin 217, engaging'a notch 218 in the 30 top of the ratchet head 210, is provided for ble row in the periphery of the drum K.

Crank 175 is made adjustable, so that motion from one to any desired number of teeth may be imparted to ratchet wheel 211, and, knowing the relationship between the total number of teeth in the ratchet wheel and the number of pockets in one row in the periphery of the drum, one can adjust to a nicety for the number of pockets it is desired to advance and discharge in one revolution of the main operating shaft 53.

It should now be understood that every revolution of main operating shaft 53 completes an. entire cycle of the various functions of my machine, i. e.:-first, lifting the nozzles out of the way of the bottles; second, advancing the tray one row; third, closely following, depressing -;the nozzles into engagement with the fresh row of containers; and, fourth, the partial revolution of the drum and'discharge of pellets into the containers. Continuous revolution of said shaft at a slow speed, is all that is -necessary in the operation of the machine after it is once adjusted for the particular size of bottles or containers in hand, aside from bringing fresh trays to and removing filled ones from the device. It should be observed that crank 175 is placed on said shaft 53 in such position that its throw will be at right angles to the extreme point of throw of the cam 154a By this arrangement, said crank will be advancing the drum K during the period that the said cam 154 is not acting upon the roller 155, which controls the release of the sleeves S with the bottles or containers.

I now wish it distinctly understood that I may change many of the minor mechanical details hereinbefore described. Such changes are within the scope of the skilled mechanic, and do not depart from the spirit nor scope of my invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim as new, and desire to secure unto myself by Letters Patent of the United States z- V intermittent motion to. said pickup, and

means for varying the extent ofsaid motion. r

2. In a package filling machine, a pair of uprights and a table therebetween, a casing between said uprights, a shaft in said casing extending exteriorly thereof, a pickup on said shaft, outlets in said casing registering with said pickup, a main shaft and means for converting rotary motion of said main shaft into intermittent motion of said pickup shaft.

3. In a package filling machine, a pair of uprights and a table therebetween, a casing between said uprights, a shaft in said casing extending exteriorly thereof, a pickup on said shaft, outlets in said casing registering with said pickup, a main shaft, means for converting rotary motion of said main shaft intointermittent, partial rotation of said pickup shaft, and other means varying the extcnt'of said rotation.

4:. In a package filling machine, a pair of uprights and a table therebetween, a oasing between said-uprights, a shaft in said casing extending exteriorly thereof, a pickup on said shaft, outlets in said casing registering with said pickup, a main shaft,

an adjustable crank arm on the end of said shaft, a ratchet wheel and a ratchet arm and pawl, said ratchet arm having a pinion, on said pickup shaft,- a rack engaging said pinion, and means connecting said crank arm and said rack.

5. In a package filling machine, a pair of uprights and a table therebetween, a casing between said uprights, a drum having equally spaced circumferential pockets throughout the periphery thereof in said casing, outlets in said casing registering with said pockets, mechanism for securing intermittent partial rotation of said drum, and

- 7. In a package filling machine, apair of uprights and a table therebetween, a casing between said uprights, a shaft in said casing extending exteriorly thereof, a drum having equally spaced circumferential pockets throughout the periphery thereof on said shaft, outlets in said casing registering with said pockets, a main shaft, means converting continuous rotation of said main shaft into intermittent, partial rotation of said drum shaft, and devices varying the extent of said intermittent rotation.

nuance 8. In a package filling machine, a pair of uprights and a table therebetween, a casing between said uprights, a shaft in said casing extending exteriorly thereof, a drum having circumferential pockets on said shaft, outlets in said casing registering with said pockets, a main shaft, and adjustable crank arm on the end of said shaft, a ratchet wheel and a ratchet arm and pawl, said arm having a pinion, on said drum shaft, a rack engaging said pinion, and means connecting said crank arm and said rack.

9. In a package filling'machine, a pair of uprights and a tabletherebetween, a cas- 111g between said uprights, a hopper surmounting said casing, a drum rotatably mounted in said casing with its periphery entering said hopper, a plurality of parallel rows of pockets the entire length of said drum, all of said pockets equally spaced around the entire circumference thereof, outlets in said casing registering with said rows of pockets, a brush in said hopper contacting with said drum and pockets, and

means for imparting a step by step rotative movement to said drum.

10. A package filling machine including a casing and support therefor, a pickup in said casing, there being outlets in said casing registering with said pickup, a main driving shaft, and means in connection with said shaft and pickup imparting intermittent motion to said pickup.

11. A package filling machine including i z a casing and support therefor, a pickup in said casing, there'being outlets in said cas-,

i said pickup.

ing registering withsaid pickup, means in connection with said outlets engaging packages to be filled, a main driving shaft, and means in connection with said shaft and pickup imparting intermittent mot-ion to 12. A package filling machine including a casing and support therefor, a drum with pockets throughout its periphery in said casing, there being outlets in said casing registering with said pockets, a main driving shaft, and means in connection with said shaft and said drum imparting intermittent motion to said drum.

13. A package filling machine including a casing and support therefor, a drum with pockets throughout its periphery in said casing, there being outlets in said casing registering With said pockets, means in connection with said pockets engaging packages to be filled, a main driving shaft, and means in connection with said shaft and said drum imparting intermittent motion to said drum. 14. A package filling machine including a drum having pockets in the periphery thereof, a. supported casing surrounding said drum, a magazine in connection therewith, means causing the periodical discharge of the contents of a predetermined'number of said. pockets, and other means varying the number of pockets discharged.

FRIEDA T. LEBERSTEIN, WVILIJAM O. STARK. 

